"THERE ARE JUST A FEW SINGERS THAT CAN PRESENT THIS MUSIC AS IT WAS INTENDED, AND JIM PARAVANTES IS ONE OF THEM"

TOM DREESEN

Tom Dreesen opened for Frank Sinatra and traveled with him for over 14 years.

About Jim:

Jim possesses a smooth singing style that is perfect for swing and ballads.....and when it's time to accelerate the tempo, he's totally able and adept - an excellent improviser performing a repertoire of the Great American Songbook. His style combines influences from his four favorite mentors, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett and David Street.

Jim has performed across the US and regularly performs with the David Swain II-V-I Orchestra. He also was the featured vocalist for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on several occasions. Jim had the opportunity open for comedian Tom Dreesen.

Jim Paravantes thinks big-band music is "the best music that's out there."

That's why he's happy to be the featured vocalist for Sunday's show by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts. "The standards they created back in the '30s and '40s keep getting better. I'm a believer that that type of music has to remain," he told The Evening News in a recent telephone interview from his home in Canton, Michigan.

The Third Time

It's the third time Mr. Paravantes has performed with the legendary big band, owner of such hits as "Marie," "I'll Never Smile Again" and "Stardust." He sings regularly in southeastern Michigan - mostly jazz.- "It's a passion for me," he said. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra has been called one of the best all-around dance bands in big-band history. Called the Sentimental Gentleman of Swing, Mr. Dorsey was "a master at creating warm, sentimental, and always musical moods - at superb dancing and listening tempos," according to press information. Among the band's vocalists were Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford. The end of World War II, big-band music was on the wane and many bandleaders put down their batons, Mr. Dorsey included.